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Following the recent emergency back surgery of lead singer Bono, the band has announced that 16 dates on its upcoming North American tour, from Salt Lake City on June 3 to New Jersey's Meadowlands Stadium on July 19, will be postponed while Bono undergoes at least eight weeks of rehab and recuperation. That includes U2's July 9 concert in Miami.

In a statement, band manager Paul McGuinness said the band was "working as fast as we can with Live Nation to reschedule these dates." For now, at least, all we know is that the concerts will be rescheduled for sometime in 2011.

Get the full announcement -- which goes into pretty deep detail about the nature of Bono's back injury and treatment -- after the jump.

Here's the full, official press release from Live Nation regarding the postponement of U2's upcoming American dates:

Bono Discharged From Munich Hospital Following Surgery; U2 North American Tour Dates Postponed

(LOS ANGELES, CA) May 25, 2010 - As announced earlier today, Live Nation has confirmed that the U2 360° North American Tour will be postponed until 2011.

U2's Bono has now been discharged from Ludwig Maximilians-University (LMU) Hospital in Munich where he underwent emergency surgery on Friday, following a back injury. In order to fully recover, he is under doctor's orders to start a rehabilitation program and to recuperate for at least eight weeks.

This will necessitate the postponement of 16 shows on the U2 360° Tour from Salt Lake City on June 3rd, through to New Jersey’s Meadowlands Stadium on July 19th. This includes the July 9th performance scheduled for Miami’s Sun Life Stadium

Dr. Muller Wohlfahrt confirmed, "Bono suffered severe compression of the sciatic nerve. On review of his MRI scan, I realized there was a serious tear in the ligament and a herniated disc, and that conservative treatment would not suffice. I recommended Bono have emergency spine surgery with Professor Tonn at Munich’s LMU University Hospital on Friday."

Professor Tonn, who carried out the operation, added, "Bono was referred to me by Dr. Muller Wohlfahrt late last week with a sudden onset disease. He was already in severe pain with partial paralysis in the lower leg. The ligament surrounding the disc had an 8mm tear and during surgery we discovered fragments of the disc had traveled into the spinal canal. This surgery was the only course of treatment for full recovery and to avoid further paralysis. Bono is now much better, with complete recovery of his motor deficit. The prognosis is excellent, but to obtain a sustainable result, he must now enter a period of rehabilitation."

Dr. Muller Wohlfahrt continued, "We are treating Bono as we would treat any of our athletes, and while the surgery has gone very well, the coming weeks are crucial for a return to full health. In the next days, he will start a light rehabilitation program, with increasing intensity over the next 8 weeks. In our experience, this is the minimum time."

U2's manager, Paul McGuinness, was also at the Hospital in Munich and said, "Our biggest and I believe best tour has been interrupted and we’re all devastated. For a performer who lives to be on stage, this is more than a blow. He feels robbed of the chance to do what he does best and feels like he has badly let down the band and their audience. Which is of course nonsense. His concerns about more than a million ticket buyers whose plans have been turned upside down, we all share, but the most important thing right now is that Bono make a full recovery. We’re working as fast as we can with Live Nation to reschedule these dates."

U2 tour producer/promoter Arthur Fogel, CEO of Live Nation Global Touring, also expressed, "Although we understand the disappointment to U2 fans, first and foremost comes the recovery of Bono."

Additional details on rescheduled dates will follow shortly and fans are encouraged to hold on to their tickets. Please visit: www.U2.com for ongoing tour updates.